The journey of the Sun, the Moon and the stars

Good evening, beloved friends and brethren present. It is a great blessing for me to be with you on this occasion, to share a few moments of fellowship around the Word of God and His Program relevant to this end time.

For this evening we have the subject “THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.” For which I want to read in Psalm 19, verse 1 to 6, where it says:

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.”

May God bless our souls with His Word and allow us to understand It.

“THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.”

In this passage, the psalmist shows us that God has made the sun a tabernacle; and “as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoicing as a strong man to run a race,” so is the sun rising from the East and reaching the West, where it completes its journey, and then returns from the West to the East.

And now, in order to understand this journey of the sun, the moon and the stars, and what this represents, we have to go to the book of Revelation, where Christ here shows us the sun, He shows us the stars also…; because the things of heaven represent the things here on Earth and represent spiritual things, and everything that God is going to do on Earth, He shows it in heaven.

For example, we have the First Coming of Christ, where the wise men saw a star, which was prophesied in the book of Numbers: there it said that a star would come out of Jacob; and when Christ, the Messiah was born, a star was the sign there that the Messiah had been born on Earth.

And scientists say that that star was formed by a few planets that had been placed in line and made that big star, that big light, because those planets were in line.

And now, that was the sign of the Messiah in His First Coming, in other words, the sign of the Son of Man being shown in heaven, the sign of the Coming of the Son of Man in the midst of the Hebrew people. Numbers, chapter 24, verse 17, is where the prophecy that says that a star would come out of Jacob is.

And now, from Jacob (that is, the Hebrew people) came that star in the sky as a sign, testifying that the Messiah was on Earth; that star in the sky represented the Messiah on Earth. And that is why Christ, in Revelation, chapter 2, verse 28, says: “And I will give him the Morning Star.”

And now, what is this Morning Star? In Revelation, chapter 22, verse 16, He says:

“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Here we have that Christ is the bright and Morning Star, which has sent His Angel Messenger.

And now, in Revelation, chapter 1, verses 13 and on (up to verse 20), it says:

“And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle (here we have Him as Judge of all the Earth, with the golden girdle upon His chest).

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow…”

In other words, we have Him there as the judges of ancient times, who wore a white wig; and here we have Him with His hair white as snow, as the judges did when they entered the court, they entered with that white hair; even though they were young judges, but they wore that white wig that placed them or typified that they were mature people, full of knowledge and wisdom and experience, maturity, to judge justly in the judgment or judgments that they were going to carry out. And that is how Christ appears here in this apocalyptic vision. It goes on to say:

“…and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars (here He has seven stars in His right hand): and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”

Here we have seven stars; and we have the Son of Man with His face like the sun, that is, we also have the Sun here, which is Christ, who said: “I am the Light of the world.”¹

“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.”

Now see how these seven stars represent the seven angel messengers of the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church of Jesus Christ. And in this diagram, which represents the Church of Jesus Christ and her different ages or stages through which she has passed, and the angel messengers of the Church, which are the seven stars at the right hand of the Lord; we find that, as each age of the gentile Church has emerged, they have been placed (how?) in line, one after the other.

And now, we find that when the seven ages of the gentile Church end, there are seven stars, seven angel messengers in line, here, in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, coming one after the other; and then we have the bright and Morning Star, which is our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

And now, notice how we have had Christ reflected through these seven stars of the seven ages of the gentile Church, which have been placed in line; and when these stars have been placed in line, we find that it is the same sign that these wise men saw over back then, living in Babylon, looking towards the land of Israel.

And now, notice, they were East of Israel; therefore, being in the territory of Babylon, they had to look from the territory of Babylon… See how they had to look, in order to see those stars in line and see the sign of the Messiah in the sky: Them being here in Babylon (which is here, the Eastern part), they looked from the East towards the West, towards the land of Israel; and as they looked towards the land of Israel, from the East they looked towards the West and they could see the sign of the Messiah, the sign of the Son of Man in the sky, they could see that star in the sky.

And now, we find that looking from Israel to the West, looking from the East to the West, for the Last Day they will see these stars in line, these angel messengers in line; and there you will see the bright and Morning Star shining (which is Christ, the bright and Morning Star), and you will see that bright and Morning Star shining in the morning of a new dispensational day and in the Age of the Cornerstone, which is the Age of the Morning for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ; because the other seven stars were stars of the stage pertaining to the night, through which the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ has passed during the Dispensation of Grace.

That is why, for the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church, we find that there were seven stars in the spiritual Heaven of God, in the midst of the Church of Jesus Christ, reflecting Christ in each age; and that is why the Church was represented in the moon during the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church.

But for the Last Day the Church of Jesus Christ ascends to the Age of the Sun, which is the Age of the Cornerstone, where Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, will be manifested; and also Christ, the bright and Morning Star, will be manifested in the morning of a new dispensational day.

And now, let’s see what the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ says; he says, on page 11 of the message “The Uniting Time And Sign,”² he says:

“Did you notice how vivid, the sign for the wise men? They looked, there was… They were Hebrew. They wasn’t really Indian astronomers, they were Hebrews; because they were up there in that country studying astronomy, to finish their education. And when they was… looked towards Jerusalem, and knowing that they saw those three stars from each one of their—their birth-path, of Ham, Shem, and Japheth, of which race they come from, each, and they seen them stars in their birth-path. That was a sign to them, that when those stars were in line, the Messiah was on earth.”

When those stars were in line, the Messiah was where? On Earth already, being born in Bethlehem of Judea.

“Oh, my! No wonder they came, ‘Where is He? Where is He that’s born King of the Jews? We’ve saw His Star in the East, and have come to worship Him. Where is He?’ They knowed that that infant Messiah was laying somewhere, because God gave them a sign of the time, that God and man were uniting together. What a unity, when God united Himself in a human body! The principal, the greatest of all the unitings that ever was done, was when God united with man; and left His—His great strain of being God and stretched forth His tent and took in humanity, and become one of them, to redeem them…”

Now, we can see how God came to be one of the human beings by becoming flesh in the midst of the human race.

Now, notice, in this same message, we find that this is a sign for the Coming of the Messiah, that sign in heaven.

Now, let’s look at another sign, or the same sign. The forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ says:³

“…I want to follow the Morning Star, Christ.”

Now, Christ is (what?) the bright and Morning Star, when the seven stars, the seven angel messengers, have finished shining (shining or illuminating), each one in his age, during the night of the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church, where the Church was represented in the moon. But now Christ comes, after manifesting Himself through His seven angel messengers, Christ comes manifested in the Age of the Cornerstone as the bright and Morning Star.

And He says: “To him that overcometh will I give the bright and Morning Star.” Therefore, the one who receives the bright and Morning Star is receiving Christ —the bright and Morning Star— in His Coming, in the morning of a new dispensational day; and Christ through the Overcomer will be shining, and will be giving His Message of Light to His Church in the Age of the Cornerstone; but remember that it is already in the morning of a new dispensational day and in the morning of a new millennial day, in other words, in the morning of the seventh millennium.

And now, the morning of the seventh millennium is nothing less than the fourth watch, because the fourth watch is from 6 to 9 in the morning; and that is the only watch that is in the day; and in that watch the star that shines is the morning star, which represents Christ in His Coming in the Last Day, in the Age of the Cornerstone and Dispensation of the Kingdom and seventh millennium or millennial day, which is the Last Day before God.

Now see how in the heavens God has reflected all that He will do on Earth. And the wise men who saw the star in the sky, then on Earth looked for what that star represented on Earth: it represented the Messiah already on Earth, being born as a little child, as an infant.

And now, they didn’t have to wait for the Messiah to begin His ministry, because they would have had to wait almost 30 years to see the Messiah ministering among the Hebrew people. They saw Him before His ministry began; almost 30 years before His ministry began, those wise men saw Him, because they saw the sign of the Coming of the Son of Man in heaven; they saw the sign of the Coming of the Messiah, and they were very happy and joyful to see the Messiah, although He was still an infant who was about 2 years old when they saw Him.

And now, you see that this is very important, because for the Last Day we have the promise that the sign of the Son of Man in heaven will be seen. And that sign of the Son of Man in heaven…

Remember that the stars represent messengers; and Christ has had seven stars, seven angel messengers, one for each age of the gentile Church, during the night through which the Church has been going through during the Dispensation of Grace. And those seven stars, being the seven angel messengers, are the stars that He has to His right, in His right hand; and the seven candlesticks are the seven ages of the gentile Church.

Now, let’s see what Reverend William Branham says about the moon, the sun and the stars: page 15 and 16 of the message “Shalom”; let’s see, let’s see what he says:⁴

“The seventh earthly messenger, see, this angel that He speaks of then was on earth. An angel means ‘messenger.’ And then, after that, he saw another Angel coming down, not the earthly angel that had been given the Message here, but the (another) mighty Angel came from Heaven with a rainbow over Him (that is the Mighty Angel of Revelation 10, verse 1 onwards), and set His foot on the land and sea, (that is, the right one in the sea and the left one on land), and swore by Him that lives forever and ever, ‘Time shall be no more.’ See? But before He broke forth on those Seven Seals to reveal them, that He showed miraculous, He showed it first in the heavens.

That day they took pictures all across southern United States and Mexico. There it hangs now in the Life Magazine, still a mystery to them. But He declares it in the heavens before He does it on earth. He always does that. He shows His signs in the heavens first.”

And now, that sign that was seen in the sky on February 28, 1963, which he is talking about here, is this sign that was published in Life magazine (in other words, Life magazine, of North America) and also in Science magazine. And it contains —this picture— the seven angel messengers, the seven stars of the seven ages; and it also has the bright and Morning Star, which is the Angel that was different from the rest, which is Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, the Mighty Angel that descends from Heaven wrapped in a cloud, as it says Revelation, chapter 10, verse 1 onwards, with the rainbow over His head, and His face was like the sun; And it is the same that appears in Matthew, chapter 24, verse 30 to 31, of which our beloved Lord Jesus Christ spoke, where Christ (let’s see) said to us:

“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

The Son of Man, the Angel that was different from the rest, from the angels that were here…

Here were the seven angel messengers in their theophanic bodies; and the Angel that was different from the others was there, which is the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Covenant, which is Jesus Christ Himself in His theophanic body, and is the Angel that forms the white hair of the Lord in this cloud, which forms the face of the Lord. And here He was crowned by the seven angel messengers, the Angel who was different from the others; He was crowned as King of kings and Lord of lords.

And now, in all these angels that are present here in this cloud, are represented all the members of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, of the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church and of the Age of the Cornerstone. The elect of the seven ages are represented in the seven angel messengers of the seven ages, and the elect of the Last Day are represented in the Angel that was different from the rest, which is the Angel that has the Seventh Seal.

And just as the seven angels had to be manifested in human flesh to have their ministries in the midst of the Church of Jesus Christ, and to shine, and thus reflect the Light of Christ in the age in which they lived; the Angel who is different from the rest —to manifest Himself and shine as the bright and Morning Star, and then as the Sun of Righteousness, and to shine in the Age of the Cornerstone and in the Dispensation of the Kingdom and in the seventh millennium— He has to become flesh on Earth in the prophet messenger of the Age of the Cornerstone and prophet messenger of the Dispensation of the Kingdom, who is the Angel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to shine through His Angel Messenger in the Last Day as the bright and Morning Star and then as the Sun of Righteousness shining in the end time; because “to those who fear my Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.”⁵

Remember that it is the manifestation of Christ, the Angel of the Covenant, the Angel of the Lord, which comes from stage to stage, from age to age, traveling through all the territory, until reaching the Age of the Cornerstone.

We can see then the trajectory of the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Covenant, which is our beloved Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Spirit manifested through each angel messenger from age to age; and then manifested in the Age of the Cornerstone through His Angel Messenger as the bright and Morning Star, and then as the Sun of Righteousness, in the Last Day, which is the seventh millennium, where “the Earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”⁶

Mankind will be filled with the knowledge of the Coming of Christ as the bright and Morning Star, and as the Sun of Righteousness rising in the Last Day (that is, in the seventh millennium) and in the Dispensation of the Kingdom and Age of the Cornerstone, in His manifestation through His Angel Messenger. But His Angel Messenger is not the Lord Jesus Christ; he is only the instrument of Christ for that powerful manifestation of Christ as the bright and Morning Star and as the Sun of Righteousness for the Last Day.

And now, notice how this manifestation of Christ for the Last Day is the greatest of all manifestations, and it pertains to the daytime, and it is for the fourth watch and to illuminate throughout the seventh millennium.

And now, we continue reading, he says [“Shalom,” paragraph 31]:

“And even in the Zodiac. I’m not going back to teach Zodiac, but I’m just showing you the heavens declare It. In the Zodiac we find out, in the constellations of the stars, that He declared the whole Bible in the constellation of the—of the Zodiac. We find out there that He starts off, the very—very first figure in the Zodiac is the Virgin, and the last figure in the Zodiac is Leo the Lion; showing that Jesus would come first to the earth by a Virgin, He’ll come the second time as the Lion of the tribe of Juda (and see, all of that is in the stars, in those constellations). See? He goes through the crossed fishes just before that. Cancer Age, what we’re living in now. ‘And all the heavens declare Him’…”

And now, further down, on this same page 15 of the book or message “Shalom,” verse 68, it says:⁷

“Now, the other day, we’ve had in the event of the history of the church now… In the—the Bible, the moon represents the ‘church,’ and the sun represents ‘Christ.’ For we find that in Revelation, the 12th chapter, the woman which was the ‘church,’ she was found with the moon under her feet and the sun at her head, twelve stars in her crown. Which, the—the old Orthodox Jewish law was under her feet, she had crossed over that into the light of the sun. Twelve stars are the ‘twelve apostles’ that brought the messages to us, now, under the Holy Spirit. Now we find that the moon in the heavens is to reflect the light of the sun, in the absence of the sun. It gives us—it gives us light to get around. But it’s still… No matter how much it reflects, it’s still not the perfect light… / …and the moon reflects its light in the absence of the sun. But when the sun comes up, then the moon is not needed no more.”

And now, the sun is Christ and the moon is the Church during the seven stages.

And now, when the Sun rises in the Age of the Cornerstone, now we have for the Age of the Cornerstone the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, in the morning rising, to give light to all His children and the whole world. And Christ will no longer be reflecting Himself through His Church in these seven ages, nor through the seven angel messengers, because He already did that during those seven stages; He will now be manifested as the Sun of Righteousness in the Age of the Cornerstone; but first He begins as the bright and Morning Star, because the bright and Morning Star announces that a new day is being born; and the Sun shining, being born, illuminates that new day, and begins in a gradual way.

That is why Christ for the Last Day, for the Age of the Cornerstone, as the bright and Morning Star, announces to us that a new day is beginning and reveals to us that the Sun is rising, and that this brightness that is seen is the Light of the Sun, the Light of Christ in His Second Coming, beginning to shine in the midst of human beings.

And then the rising Sun begins to give Light. That Light, which is the Light of His revealed Word, is the Light with which every human being during the Millennial Kingdom will be illuminated and will be filled with the knowledge of the whole Divine Program relevant to the Age of the Cornerstone, which is an eternal age, and the Dispensation of the Kingdom, which is the dispensation that rules the entire seventh millennium.

And there Christ, in that seventh dispensation, the Dispensation of the Kingdom, and that seventh millennial day, which is the seventh millennium, which is also the Last Day before God (because one day before God is like a thousand years for human beings), see, Christ the Sun of Righteousness, in His Coming to His Church in the Last Day, in His manifestation through His Angel Messenger, illuminates our soul with His Light, with His revelation, for this Last Day.

And now, see how that Light, the Light of Christ, Christ the Sun, illuminating us, gives us all the revelation that we need to be transformed and raptured; He gives us the faith, the revelation, of the rapture: the revelation of His Coming, the revelation of the Second Coming of Christ as the bright and Morning Star and as the Sun of Righteousness shining in a new dispensational day, being born in a new dispensational day.

And now, when the sun rises, you don’t need the moon to shine, because the moonlight is not a perfect light: it only reflects the sun during the night; but during the day, even if the moon is seen, it is not shining at all. It’s like taking a flashlight, a lamp, on a sunny day, and trying to light with it; that light is of no use to you, because there is a greater light that is shining: the light of the sun. And when the sunlight comes out, then the moon is no longer needed.

[“Shalom,” page 13] “And today the Church is reflecting the Light of the absent Son of God. The Church is a reflection of the Light. Because He said, ‘A little while and the world seeth Me no more. Yet ye shall see Me, for I will be with you, even in you, to the end of the age. The works that I do,’ Lights that He made manifest. And there’s no Light except through the Word of God.”

In other words, when the Word of God promised for an age is made flesh in the angel messenger, there we have the Light of that age: Christ, the Light of the world, made manifest through the messenger of that age. And therefore, the Word promised for that age has been made flesh in the messenger of that age. And when people receive that Message, the Word has been made flesh in that age in the people of that age. That is how the Word is made flesh in every age.

It continues to say:

“That sun is the Word of God. In the beginning, God said, ‘Let there be light.’ And when the manifested Word of God, when the Word of God was manifested, there was light. First, God spoke it. What if it didn’t manifest? Then it wasn’t light yet. But when He spoke it, and then it was manifested, vindicated (in other words, fulfilled, when it was fulfilled), His Word was a-vindicated, light come into existence.

And that’s the only way it can be done now, is when the Word is vindicated, God’s written Word vindicated, then it shows Light.”

In other words, the vindicated Word of God is the promised Word of God being fulfilled. When it is fulfilled, the vindicated Word is there, made reality, for that age, through the manifestation of Christ in Holy Spirit in the angel messenger of that stage, of that age.

“…then it shows Light. It’s, a portion is lit, or put out for each age.”

That is, a lamp is lit when Christ comes manifested in the angel messenger of an age; because the angel messenger of that age is the wick lit by Christ, the Holy Spirit, in the lamp (the age) of that Candlestick; and there is Light, in that lamp, for that stage of the Church. And that is how the Church has Light in every age, that is how the Moon has Light in every age.

And now, for the Last Day, the Word promised for the Last Day is vindicated, is fulfilled, and the Light of the Age of the Cornerstone comes; which, as Christ was in every age in the messenger of every age, is Christ in the Age of the Cornerstone in the messenger of the Age of the Cornerstone, which is the Angel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He goes on to say:

“…His Word was a-vindicated, light come into existence.

And that’s the only way it can be done now, is when the Word is vindicated, God’s written Word vindicated, then it shows Light.”

And now, we continue, he says:

“We find it in the Church Ages, we find it in the Old—the Old Testament church ages. Each time that there come a time for a—a certain manifestation of the journey, there was a prophet came to the earth. And the Word came to the prophet, and he made that Word live.”

When He came in each age of the Old Testament, in the stage pertaining to each age of the Hebrew Church under the Law, there the Light of each one of those ages of the Old Testament was lit, burning.

That is why Jesus said of John the Baptist that he was a lamp (or a light, lamp) shining in a dark place; and He says: “And you were willing to walk in his light.”⁸ For John the Baptist, being that in him was the manifestation of the Spirit of God for the seventh age of the Hebrew Church under the Law: when the Spirit of God manifested in John the Baptist came, there was the Light lit for the seventh age of the Hebrew Church under the Law. And people wanted to walk in his Light, many people; but now Christ says: “But I have a greater testimony than John,” therefore, more Scriptures. And all the Messianic Scriptures pertaining to the First Coming of Christ were being fulfilled in Jesus; therefore, He had more Light than John the Baptist.

Which has more light: a star or the sun? The sun has more light than a star. That is why a star can’t illuminate mankind, and mankind can’t remain in the daytime, as it happens during the day with the sun.

And now, see how through that manifestation of God in each prophet came the Light of each age in the Old Testament for each stage. And John was the last light for the Hebrew Church under the Law, that is, for the Hebrew people under the Law. And then came the Sun of Righteousness; and that is why He could say: “I am the Light of the world; and he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life.”

He goes on to say:

“And when that Word was identified, it reflected God (God, who is Light, you see, was being reflected in that Word promised for that age through the messenger of that age). And there was the—the age, there was the Light. And that’s the way Light comes today.”

It is through what? Of the promised Word of God, of what God has promised, for our time; just as the light of each age was the fulfillment of what God promised for each age, which was fulfilled through the manifestation of Christ, the Light of the world, through the messenger of each age.

And now, we can see this great mystery of the Light: Christ being manifested in this end time.

Also on page 20 and 22 (let’s see)… Let’s see what page 20 and 22 tell us… It says [page 16]:

“Which, that was the church, the moon is the church, represents the church. And before the church, the shadow of the world crosses the moon. And the shadow of worldly-ism, the shadow of worldliness, worldly church, has swept across to black out the entire Light of the Bible. The world got in the Light of the reflection. Do you understand? The world crossed in the light of the moon, and blinded out the sun. And the reflection of the moon that’s supposed to be giving light to the earth, it was blacked out.”

And now we will see [page 17]:

“The Bible said that He is the Word (in other words, Christ is the Word). And the manifested, or the vindicated, Scripture is the Light.”

The vindicated or fulfilled Word or Scripture is the Light: it is the Light in every age of the seven ages and it is the Light for the Age of the Cornerstone.

“What does it mean? God has begin to separate the Light from the darkness, see, pressing it behind, like He did in the beginning, to show the dawn of a new day (of that seventh millennial day or Last Day). The Church Ages are fading out (And what is left for us? A new dispensational day and a new day as an age: the Eternal Age of the Church of Jesus Christ). The Church Ages are fading out. God is pressing the darkness into a place, it has to do it, to fade out…”

And there he begins to explain a number of things. Now, let’s see, he says [page 17]:

“Gross darkness, blinding of Israel, was for the lightening of the Gentiles. Now the blinding of the Gentiles is the lightening of Israel (that is, for the birth of Israel). It’s just like the day and night; one side has got darkness, the other side has got light; and then the light comes over on the other side. So the—the moon passing the way it did, and the reflection of the darkness of the world blinding out its light…”

He goes on to say, he says:

“The Church is making herself ready, been making herself ready for a time, it’s time for the Rapture. For darkness is fading upon the Gentiles, and dawn will soon break upon the Jews (What will begin upon the Jews? The dawn of a new dispensational day and the dawn of the seventh millennium). The sun has traveled from the East to the West, and we’re on the West Coast.”

And the Light, which is Christ, will return to the East, to the Hebrew people, through the ministries of Moses and Elijah in the Angel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, further down, on page 20, it says:

“What is Light? The vindicated, spoken Word of God! Outside of that, there’s no Light. See? You can’t lighten the earth with flashlights. It takes God’s Word that’s made manifest, the Son.”

Here we can see this mystery.

And now, look:

“Till a spoken Word reflects itself!”

And on page 25 it says:⁹

“But, the Elected, what about the Light now? I’ve been talking so much on the dark, and I got half my time up, eleven-thirty. Now let’s turn it back around; gross darkness is upon the people, now what about the Light? He said gross darkness would be upon the people, but there would be Light, ‘Rise, and shine, for the Light has come.’”

That is the Coming of Christ; just as He came to every age in the messenger of every age, He comes to the Age of the Cornerstone and Dispensation of the Kingdom in His Angel Messenger. He is the Light, Christ, the Angel of the Covenant.

“How can there be darkness and Light, it’s got to be separated. And only one thing separates it, the Word manifested, separates,…”

What is it that separates it? The Word manifested. The Word made flesh in the messenger in every age is what makes the separation of Light and darkness.

And now, what is it that separates in the Last Day the Light from the darkness? The manifested Word, Christ, the Word, in His Angel Messenger.

“Here’s the darkness on the earth, but when the manifested Word of God, the sun, which it was spoken into existence by the Word, shows itself, darkness runs to the other side.”

And further down, right here, on page 25, it says:¹⁰

“‘Gross darkness upon this people.’”

But further down it says [page 20]:

“Now I say to the Church, ‘Shalom. God’s peace.’ Peace! Every true Hebrew, when he meets another one (what does he say? what does he say?), ‘Shalom.’ Other words, ‘Good morning! God be with you! God’s peace go with you!’ It’s a ‘Good morning! How do you do?’ It’s breaking day, Church. It’s darkness upon the people, but it’s ‘Good morning’ to the Church. Christ is appearing among us. ‘Shalom. Peace.’ Hallelujah! ‘Shalom.’

When we see darkness settling, darkness just before day, we know that the morning star is hanging yonder to introduce the coming sun. It’s, that’s when the morning star shines. It’s the going between. It’s always darkest just a few minutes before day, the blackout comes, the moon fails to shine. The darkest before day, is because the light is pressing the darkness. But the morning star comes out and says, ‘Good morning. Shalom.’

That’s Him among us, His Word being identified. Shalom. The great day is fixing to break, when the morning breaks Eternal, bright and fair, when His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the sky. When the roll is called up yonder, I’ll be there. Our names are on His Book, we’ll be there. “Shalom. Good morning. Peace be unto you.

The darkness is separating itself from the Light.”

And he keeps going on there talking about everything that is promised, and then he says:

“Isaiah 60:1 says, ‘Arise, and shine, for the Light is come to you.’

Rise, and shine, the Light has come. The Word, Light, is vindicated again. The Light vindicated again, God’s Word, so that you can see God manifested in His promise of the Light of the day, or the Word given to this age…”

Here we have seen that manifestation of the Light. And now, on page 32, let’s see what it says (of the message: “Shalom”); it says [page 25]:

“…He showed us what would come when He set that Light up there, in revelation to it (that is, he is speaking of this here, February 28, 1963, in revelation to that, that is, in revelation to the Coming of Christ in the midst of His Church in the Age of the Cornerstone), to show the world. When He sent the seven Angels to reveal the seven messengers that had been down through there, and show the loose ends, each Angel coming each day and revealing the loose ends that Luther left, and Wesley left, and Pentecost left, is all represented in there.”

All the ages are represented here, in the seven angel messengers, and what those messengers brought; and also the Age of the Cornerstone is represented here, in the Angel who was different from the rest. But see:

“And in the very type and shadow of the great Shalom, Jehovah, Yahweh.”

In other versions it says: “YHWH.” See, all of that was where? There, because this is the Angel of the Covenant, the Angel of the Lord. And the Eternal Name of God, YHWH, is where? In the Angel of the Lord, the Angel of the Covenant; therefore, the Eternal Name of God was manifested there. Who had it? The Angel who was different from the rest.

“See? Exactly. Throwed It in the skies…”

Here we have seen that great mystery. It says, it goes on to say:

“He promised He’d come again. Hallelujah! That Word will be a-vindicated. God’s promised Word, with two thousand years of waiting, He will arrive on time! Don’t be weary, He’ll be here. As He has a-vindicated His Word in every age, the Church Ages show the same thing, and the revealing of our Lord by the seventh Message…”

It goes on to say:

“There will be a Millennium. The old will be young there for ever. Sickness will fade away and death will be no more.”

For we shall be (what?) transformed we who are alive, and those who have departed shall be resurrected in eternal bodies. He goes on to say (on page 33), he says [paragraph 162]:¹¹

“They shall build houses, they will inhabit them. They’ll plant vineyards and eat the fruit thereof. They’ll not plant and another inhabit (his son take it), his son will be living by him.”

In other words, we will have family living close by; not like today, where some live in one nation and sometimes the children live in another nation; here they will live close by, in other words, the neighbors of the elect will be their family. He continues saying:

“There’ll be nothing could hurt. We’ll be changed from what we are now, to that glorious image of the Son of God Which is immortal. Years can never touch Him, age can never do anything to Him, He’s the immortal Son of God. So we know that—that we’re at the end time. We’re at the junction. All these things thoroughly identified, so will it be identified again.

Now, the future, He holds it. How do I know when He’s coming? When is He coming? I don’t know, but He’ll be here.”

And there is a place where our brother Branham said: “I’ll never die with old age, until He’s here;” page 119 of the book of Quotations, there he says so. And if he were still living in the physical body, he would be 89 years old today.

Now, see, he says:¹²

“When will all the reflection of men’s hearts desiring to live, and hospitals and doctors and operations, and crying and grief, when will it all cease, to a glorious reign with Jesus of a thousand years of Shalom (that is, of peace)?  When will it? I don’t know. He said it would be there. I don’t know how He’s going to do it, but His spoken Word will be a-vindicated when the Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in His wings. And the healing part there will not be a physical healing as you think, as saying somebody’s got a sickness and it’ll be taken away from them. That’s what He’s doing now, in type. But the whole creature will be changed! This mortal will take on immortality. This old age will jump into youth.”

And it will be what? A complete healing; he will never be sick again: in the new body he will be healthy for all eternity. He goes on to say [pages 27-28, paragraphs 164-165]:¹³

“I’m looking yonder to the break of a day where the a-vindicated Word of God said ‘not one hair of your head shall perish, and I’ll raise it up again at the last days…’

The new year, I don’t know what it holds, but I know He holds it. That’s the hopes of new year I have.”

Now, we can see what that new day is: that seventh millennium that He has promised for each one of God’s sons and daughters.

On page 30 of the message “The Greatest Battle Ever Fought,”¹⁴ he also tells us about the Morning Star, and he says:

“The solar system hasn’t changed; the zodiac. The morning star rises on its post of duty, every morning, just exactly the way it did when the earth was created. The evening star takes its place; every star. The Little Dipper, and right at the time of season, is just exactly where it’s supposed to be. The North Star stands steady and never moves. Hallelujah! The whole thing revolves around the North Star, all the rest of them, because it’s right in the center of the earth.

That’s Christ (that is, it represents Christ).”

And now, see how God speaks to us in this way; and now let’s see what he says about the Morning Sun. Page 13 of the message “Birth Pains,”¹⁵ it says on page 13:

“A little dewdrop, I don’t know the formula of it. Maybe there’d be a science here of… I’m just going to say a way I think. It might be some kind of a congested group of atmosphere come together in a dark night, and it falls to the earth. And when it does, it’s born in the night. But in the morning, it’s laying there, cold, and shivering, on a little blade of grass, or hanging on your clothesline. But just let the sun shine out once, did you notice how happy it gets? It just glistens and quivers. Why? It knows that it’s that sunlight is going to draw it back to where it was at the beginning.

And so is every man or woman that’s born of the Spirit of God. There’s something about it, when Light spreads over us, that we’re happy, because we know we’re going back to where we come from, from the bosom of God. 

Can sparkle with joy, when the sun hits it, of course, knowing it’s going to where it come from (to the House of who? Of our heavenly Father).”

Now, there we can see what that Morning Star does. There we can see that with the Light of the Sun shining, the faith to be transformed and raptured comes, to take us then to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven.

That is why it is so important to understand what the sun, moon and stars represent in the Program of God. The moon is the Church, the stars are the seven angel messengers, and the morning star is Christ in His Angel Messenger in the Age of the Cornerstone; and the seven angel messengers are type and figure of Christ coming in the Last Day in His Angel Messenger, just as the prophets of the Old Testament were the type and figure, the shadow, of the First Coming of Christ, and the Second Coming of Christ was also reflected in them.

That is why when a prophet appeared on the scene he was living in the shadow of the Coming of the Lord; because they were the type and figure, the shadow, of the Coming of the Lord: He was reflecting Himself in them. That is why every messenger, in the age in which he was sent, was the type and figure of the Coming of Christ; he was the shadow, type and figure and shadow, of the Coming of the Messiah.

Now, the Sun will arise with healing: “To those who fear my Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings.” We have already seen that this healing or salvation is the transformation of our bodies for us who are alive, and the resurrection of the dead in Christ; and that is a total healing for all eternity.

And now, that is the Coming of Christ in the Age of the Cornerstone in His Angel Messenger, where the Sun, Christ, is already manifested as the Sun through His Angel Messenger; and He manifests Himself first as the bright and Morning Star through His Angel Messenger.

That is why the next Message after the seven stages or ages of the gentile Church, is brought by whom? This Angel who was different from the rest, through His manifestation through His Angel Messenger.

That is why the angel messenger of the seventh age of the gentile Church was looking forward to a new day,¹⁶ where the Sun would shine and where Christ would manifest Himself through His Angel Messenger.

But remember that His Angel Messenger is not the Lord Jesus Christ; he is only the instrument of Christ. But Christ is the bright and Morning Star and He is the Sun of Righteousness; and He is the one who brings salvation to His Church; and that salvation is the resurrection of the dead in Christ and the transformation of us who are alive.

And now, let’s see something here, in the message… In the message: “It is the rising of the Sun,”¹⁷ there is something very important here, that we can’t overlook; because here our brother Branham tells us a story of a young man who wanted to go fishing with an old fisherman who had experience, and look, he says:

“So this fisherman was kind of a greenhorn, you know (that is, the young fisherman). He went fishing, and they drifted out. Waiting for daylight to come (they got lost when it got dark), you know. And they—and they couldn’t hear the foghorn no more, and this fisherman got all excited, (he got desperate, the young fisherman) said, ‘Say, we’re drifting out to sea! Hey!’ Got all excited.

(Now, what did the old fisherman say?):

He said, ‘Sit down, son. Sit down.’ The old fisherman, quiet, you know. He knowed what he was talking about. Said, ‘Just wait until the sun comes up, then we can see where we’re at.’

You say, ‘Must I be Methodist? Baptist? Pentecostal?’

Just wait. The Son comes up (in other words, the Sun rises, Christ, the Son, the Sun of Righteousness rises: ‘To those who fear my Name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise —that is, come up— the Sun of Righteousness shall arise’), we’ll see where we’re at. He is the Word. Wait till you see the Word manifested, shining across the Seed, the wave Sheaf, we’ll see where we’re at.”

The waved Sheaf two thousand years ago was the First Coming of Christ; and the waved Sheaf for the Last Day will be the Second Coming of Christ. And when the Sun shines and gives Light: It shines on the waved Sheaf, it shines on the Second Coming of Christ, then the Sun is shining, and everything is becoming day, and then we see where we are.

And now, where are we? In the Age of the Cornerstone; for the Light, the Sun of Righteousness, is shining where? In the Age of the Cornerstone.

That is why the Church, in Revelation, chapter 12, is with the Moon under her feet and is clothed (with what?) with the Sun. In Revelation, chapter 12, see how it shows us here: chapter 12, verse 1 to 2, says:

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun (of what?, she was clothed with the sun), and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (these are the twelve apostles: the twelve stars):

And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

There, notice, we have the Moon, which is the Church; it was the Church of the Old Testament and it’s also the Church in the New Testament.

Now, see how God reflected here in Heaven what He would do on Earth. That is why here, in this picture, which forms the face of the Lord (formed by the seven angel messengers of the seven ages and by the Angel that was different from the rest, which forms the white wig of the Lord here): here we have the brightness, His face shining like the sun; and here we have the sign of the Son of Man in Heaven.

From that date onwards we find that the nations have been lamenting a lot, they have been having serious problems from that date onwards.

And now, from 1963 until now, how many years has it been? 35 years? 35 years.

And now, you see, when the wise men saw the sign of the Son of Man in heaven for the birth of Jesus, then it took almost 30 years for Him to begin His ministry.

But now, see how the sign of the Son of Man has been seen in heaven, and Christ said: “And then He shall send His Angels with a Great Voice of Trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect.”¹⁸ Who is the one who sends His Angels? The Angel who was different from the rest. He sends His Angels, that is, He sends the ministries of Moses and Elijah in the Last Day, with the Great Voice of Trumpet of the Gospel of the Kingdom, to call and gather all His elect on this Last Day.

Therefore, from this date on, the ministries of the Angels of the Son of Man, the ministries of Moses and Elijah, would be manifested here on Earth, and would be in the work corresponding to the Work relevant to the Last Day, to call and gather all the elect of God in a new age and in a new dispensation.

Now, we have seen that from that date onwards great things have happened in the Divine Program. And we are living in the most glorious time of all times, where we have been seeing the moon, the stars and the sun materializing in the Divine Program, becoming a reality in the Divine Program.

Because the moon, the sun and the stars represent:

• the moon, the Church;

• the stars, the messengers of Jesus Christ; and the seven evening stars are the seven angel messengers; and the Morning Star is Christ through His Angel Messenger, just as the evening stars is Christ through His seven angel messengers manifested;

• and the Sun is Christ, who for the Last Day will be manifested in the Age of the Cornerstone, the age that pertains to the day; He will be manifested through His Angel Messenger, shining and illuminating our understanding with the Light of His Word in this Last Day, revealing to us what He would be fulfilling in this end time, revealing to us the whole Divine Program relevant to this end time.

That is why He says: “Come up hither, and I will show you these things which must be hereafter.”¹⁹ The things that shall come to pass after these that have happened in the seven ages are the things that happen in the Age of the Cornerstone.

And those are the things that He shows us: He shows us all those things relevant to this end time, and how they are being fulfilled in the Program of God.

He shows us the bright and Morning Star and what the mystery of the bright and Morning Star is.

Christ is the bright and Morning Star, manifested in the Last Day in His Angel Messenger; and Christ is the Sun of Righteousness, manifested in the Last Day, in the Age of the Cornerstone, through His Angel Messenger.

And so the Church of Jesus Christ, in the Age of the Cornerstone, is clothed with the Sun. She is no longer clothed with the Moon, but with the Sun. The Moon is under her feet: The Church is here, and the seven ages of the gentile Church —represented in the moon— are under her feet.

And now, she is —the Church— clothed (with what?) with the Sun: clothed with Christ in His manifestation of the Last Day; for “unto them that fear my Name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings.” For whom? For all the sons and daughters of God in the Last Day in the Mystical Body of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Tonight we have seen: “THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.”

And the Sun will pass from among the gentiles (where to?) to the Hebrew people, very soon; and Isaiah, chapter 60, verse 1 onwards, will also be fulfilled for the Hebrew people, where it says:

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people…”

And when Christ turns to the Hebrew people, darkness will totally be manifested upon the gentiles. The world is in darkness, it is night; and when Christ turns to the Hebrew people, the Sun will pass over to the Hebrews and will shine in the midst of the Hebrews, and will give light in the midst of the Hebrews, and they will then see; but for the gentiles, the darkness will become denser.

Now we have seen the mystery of THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.

We have seen the journey of the Sun, the Moon and the stars, here in the Program of God, of the spiritual Heaven, in the Program of Christ in His Church from stage to stage.

And now, see what the forerunner of the Second Coming of Christ tells us. On page 266 of the book of The Ages, he says:²⁰

“If ever a people needed a promise embracing the land where there is no night, it was the people of the Dark Ages. And that is why the Spirit is promising them the morning star. He is telling them that the Chief Star, even Jesus, Who dwelleth in Light unto which no man can approach, will in the future kingdom illuminate them by His own personal presence. He will not be using the stars (messengers) (He will no longer be using these messengers) to give light in darkness any longer. It will be Jesus, Himself, speaking to them face to face as He shares His kingdom with them.”

See, this is the Age of Christ, the bright and Morning Star, speaking to His Church, to His children, face to face; revealing Himself to them; and them seeing that it’s Christ veiled and revealed in the Last Day, in the Age of the Cornerstone, through His Angel Messenger.

“It is the morning star that is visible when the light of the sun commences to shine. When our Sun, (Jesus) comes, there will be no further need of messengers; He will bring us His message of cheer Himself; and as He rules His kingdom, and we live in His presence, the light of the Word will become brighter and brighter in our perfect day.”

And our perfect day is the day of the Age of the Cornerstone, and the seventh day before God or Last Day before God, which is the seventh millennium; and also the seventh dispensational day, which is the seventh dispensation, the Dispensation of the Kingdom.

“What else could we desire above Jesus Himself? Is He not everything, even Perfect Everything? 

He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Amen. Even so, Lord God, by Thy Spirit, let us hear Thy truth.”

We have seen this mystery of the bright and Morning Star, and of the Sun of Righteousness, and of the Moon, and of the other seven stars; and we have seen their journey, during all this time that has passed from Christ until now.

The same was seen and reflected in Joseph, and his brothers, and his father, and his mother, when he saw eleven stars, and saw the sun and the moon bowing down before him.²¹ Now, how many stars are there? Joseph saw eleven; but when you look, you see how many? You see twelve; because Joseph was seeing eleven, because he is a greater star: the greatest star of all those stars.

And of all the stars that are in the Church of Jesus Christ, if we look down to the seven ages, we see seven stars; but if we look also to the Age of the Cornerstone, we see the bright and Morning Star. So that is how many stars? Eight stars, including the bright and Morning Star, which is Christ Himself in His revelation or manifestation in the Age of the Cornerstone.

“To him that overcometh will I give the Morning Star.” And the Overcomer for the Last Day is the messenger of the Age of the Cornerstone; because to the other messengers He gave not the Morning Star, but the star pertaining to each age.

Now, we have seen this mystery of THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.

And now, how many know where we are? We find ourselves in the Age of the Cornerstone. Why? Because as the old fisherman said to the young man who wanted to be a fisherman: “Let the sun come up, and then we will see where we are.” And the Sun of Righteousness has risen in the Age of the Cornerstone, and that is why we know where we are in THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS. We can see where we are and where the Church is in this journey of the Sun, Moon and stars.

It has been a great privilege for me to be with you tonight, giving you testimony of THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.

And we have seen what the Sun comes for in the Last Day: He comes to take us all; to give us the faith to be transformed and raptured, and to take us to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; in THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.

May the blessings of Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness and bright and Morning Star, be upon you all and upon me also; and may the number of God’s elect soon be completed; and may the dead in Christ soon be resurrected in eternal bodies and may we who are alive be transformed. In the Eternal Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.

Well, may God continue to bless you all, and may you continue having an evening full of the blessings of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

And we will see each other, God willing, the day after tomorrow, that is, Sunday, in Sunday’s activity. And tomorrow, Saturday, I will be in both meetings: in the youth meeting, and also in the mighty ones or the business men and women (I don’t know)… The first promotion (it is the promotion of ministers), I will be there too. So…

And on Sunday we will be looking at two very important subjects; in the morning: “THE WORK OF THE LAMB AND THE WORK OF THE LION,” and at 3:00 in the afternoon: “THE GUIDANCE OF THE DOVE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE EAGLE.”

We are going to see those mysteries of the Work of the Lamb and also the Work of the Lion, and also the guidance of the Dove and the strength of the Eagle; for, see how in two animals: the lamb and the lion, and in two birds: the dove and the eagle, God typifies the Work, His Work: The Work of Christ as Lamb and the Work of Christ as Lion, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit as the Dove and the strength of the Eagle for this end time.

Well, let’s leave it there; and we will see on Sunday, God willing, these mysteries of THE WORK OF THE LAMB AND THE WORK OF THE LION of the tribe of Judah, and also THE GUIDANCE OF THE DOVE AND THE STRENGTH OF THE EAGLE; things of which the book of Revelation and also the Gospels speak.

May God continue to bless you all, may God keep you; and may you continue having an evening filled with the blessings of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ.

With us again Felix Caro, to continue and end with some hymns or a hymn, and also to be dismissed in prayer.

May God bless you and keep you, and with us again Felix Caro to continue.

“THE JOURNEY OF THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS.”